How To Enter Flow State At Will

You can easily re-create the flow state once you know how. Your brain remembers the different states you were in, and you can condition it to be in the zone whenever you desire. It’s similar to building new habits or routines all it takes is practice. But first, let me explain what a flow state is.

What Is Flow State?

Flow state describes a state where you act without distractions and are focused intensely on a specific task or goal.

When you’re in the zone, your concentration becomes laser-focused. Action and awareness merge. Time slows down or speeds up (hours pass by in minutes). All aspects of your performance become significantly better.

Once you’re able to get into the flow states at will, you will be able to achieve incredible levels of productivity.

Let’s take an even deeper look at flow state and get into the neuroscience behind it.

The Neurochemistry Of Achieving The Flow State

A change that happens in your brain when you are in a flow state is an increase in certain neurotransmitters.

There is an increase in noradrenaline, dopamine, anandamide, serotonin, and endorphins. This is a similar neurochemical profile to those brought about by taking caffeine or similar productivity enhancing drugs such as modafinil.

The question that comes to mind is whether the neurochemistry here is defining the behavior, or whether the behavior causes the production of neurochemicals.

It’s probably a result of both. Your attention and engagement in a subject increase the production of these chemicals, which then help you to sustain that attention.

How To Enter Flow State

Things you need to do to enter flow state are pretty simple. The thing you have to do is to re-create the things that make you work like hell and repeat them over and over again. Keep a journal and write down what puts you into the zone and then re-create it, it’s that simple.

I work really focused and best when I do the following:

Put my headphones on and listen to ambient music or stuff that doesn’t have any lyrics, add tea to that mix and I can produce for hours straight.

For you, it might be different, so I advise you to create a routine. Something like this for example.

Complete small tasks like answering e-mails to get them out of your mind

Do NOT multitask. Multitasking is a bad and nasty myth and will immediately pull you out of the flow state

Do the problem-solving and creative part first before you get to the actual work

Put Headphones on and listen to music without lyrics (Ambient, Electro, Classic)

Drink tea or coffee

If you have to write an article then you should first remove distracting tasks that otherwise distract your mind, Twitter, checking emails, etc.. Then you should prepare the article by doing research (if necessary) and by dumping some thoughts into Word so that you get an idea what you want to write about and after all that you can start writing, and you should find that the words flow straight from your brain to the page – that’s flow state.

It’s like building a good habit essentially and of course, this takes time and practice.

This also works for bad flow states or habits that’re why the saying old habits die hard is true. It’s because of neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity

Your brain can revert to a “bad flow state” but also a positive one which again comes down to how you train your brain.

Old habits die hard, be aware of constant external factors that try to bring you back to your old conditioning.

What is neuroplasticity? Essentially, Neuroplasticity is a term that defines the plasticity of the brain in it’s development – neural pathways construct and reconstruct themselves by adapting to your experiences.

There are two things you need to know.

1. Your brain can adapt

2. Your brain can easily and instantaneously revert to it’s old conditioning.

Your awareness is plastic therefore you must always strengthen it because bad habits will always try to pull you back.

Summary

Getting into the flow state is quite easy once you figured out what you need to do but it’s not a one-time achievement, it is a perpetual endeavor.

Bad habits and bad conditioning will continually try to pull you back. Be aware of that, persevere and fight against it.

P.S. Did you like what you read? Then I highly suggest to take a look at my book SHATTERED you can get it on Amazon.

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Comments

I get into flow state by simply doing one task from my list. When I don’t have any willpower I just do the easiest task for today first (which is playing guitar), afterwards It will be much easier to get the following tasks done.